GlaxoSmithKline cancer drug suffers setback

RazakMusah Baba

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Thursday that its MAGE-A3 cancer vaccine hadn’t met its first or second co-primary endpoints in its Phase III trial.

The treatment didn’t significantly extend disease-free survival when compared with a placebo in either the overall MAGE-A3 positive population or in MAGE-A3-positive patients who didn’t receive chemotherapy, the research-based pharmaceutical firm said.

Glaxo
GSK, -2.43%GSK, -2.22%
has been struggling to offset a drag on sales from older, off-patent drugs with revenue from new launches. It had a very successful year in 2013 for drug development, managing an unprecedented five new drug approvals in the U.S.

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The U.K. group, which has a market capitalization £80.41 billion, has been cutting costs and restructuring its business in recent years to focus on three core areas: pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer health.

Last year it divested itself of drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena to Japan’s Suntory Holdings Ltd., and thrombosis brands to South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd., while raising its stake in its Indian consumer and pharmaceutical businesses.

“We are disappointed that the trial did not demonstrate a benefit for overall MAGE-A3 positive patient population, but we remain committed to the effort to identify... patients who may benefit from this investigational treatment,” said Vincent Brichard, senior vice president and head of immunotherapeutics at GSK Vaccines.

The company said it will continue the trial, with results from a final analysis expected in 2015.

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